Gas turbines are continuously being modified to provide increased efficiency and performance. These modifications include the ability to operate at higher temperatures and under harsher conditions, which often requires material modifications and/or coatings to protect components from such temperatures and conditions. As more modifications are introduced, additional challenges are realized.
One modification to increase performance and efficiency involves forming gas turbine components, such as, but not limited to, airfoils, buckets (blades), nozzles (vanes), combustion liners, and shrouds from CMC. However, CMC materials may be more susceptible to bending stresses and deformation than other structural materials such as superalloys. Therefore, for components which include hollow spaces, a wrap layer of CMC may be incorporated in order to stabilize the structure surrounding the hollow spaces. However, the CMC plies of the wrap layer may be susceptible to fraying prior to densification, particularly at each turning point of the CMC plies about the hollow spaces.